Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Would have been better without the forced thriller/mystery angle

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

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Bingo Square: Family (four of the five characters are from the same family) The setting of this novel is the best part – set on a fictional island, Shearwater, near Antarctica, it follows a family of four (father, Dominic, and three children) as they prepare to leave Shearwater forever after eight years as caretakers. Shearwater is home to one of the largest seed banks in the world, a large seal population, and once housed a thriving science community. But climate change is coming for even […]

Takes a “Characters Welcome” first approach

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

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Bingo Square: White It’s been about a year since the events of the last Thursday Murder Club novel, and it has been quiet as characters are dealing with grief and changing circumstances. But when the best man at Joyce’s daughter’s wedding approaches Elizabeth during the reception to ask for help, it is enough to kick-start the events of the novel and get the gang back together to investigate a potential murder or kidnapping. There are also a few other loose threads from previous books that […]

“Every war is a war against the child.”

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

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CBR17 Bingo: White – Behold, the cover. Also, a bonus! The title. Elinor is a veteran of two world wars and a trained killer, but all she wants now is to retreat into a peaceful, solitary existence in the English countryside. But when a violent past comes back to haunt her neighbors, she cannot help but become drawn in. I’m sure I’ll eventually get around to checking out Winspear’s long-running Maisie Dobbs series, but in the meanwhile I figured I’d pick up the standalone The […]

No matter how long you stand there examining yourself naked before a mirror, you’ll never see reflected what’s inside.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

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To be able to grasp something of value, sometimes you have to perform seemingly inefficient acts. But even activities that appear fruitless don’t necessarily end up so. ― Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running CBR17 Bingo: Culture This book discusses a runner’s mentality as well as running culture. As an avid reader of Haruki Murakami, I’ve been meaning to check this book off of my list for going on ten years. I wondered though if his nonfiction could hold up […]

Groan

The Firm by John Grisham

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It was the eyes, the cold black eyes with layers of black wrinkles around them. Great eyes. Unforgettable eyes. His hair was white and thin on top with thickets around the ears, and the whiteness contrasted sharply with the rest of his face. When he spoke, the eyes narrowed and the black pupils glowed fiercely. Sinister eyes. Knowing eyes. ― John Grisham, The Firm You have only two choices, Mitch. Join us, or die. ― John Grisham, The Firm CBR17 Bingo: Borrow (Bingo from Arts to […]

Dispatches from the Frontier

Little Pasture on the Prairie by Eliza Blue

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CBR17 Bingo: Work – In this book, the author discusses her life and work on her family ranch, where she is a shepherdess, and all the highs and lows of that lifestyle. Author, songwriter, and shepherdess Eliza Blue invites us into her life on her family ranch in South Dakota as told in the highlights from a decade of newspaper columns. I’ve always lived in places that are hilly or places that are green or places that are both hilly and green. I think if […]



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